1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a device for use in maintaining the temperature in the air in a region in a cargo area a sheet of the device is unrolled in a position substantially transversely across the cargo area. The device is mountable in a cargo area in a vehicle or a shipping container and can regulate the velocity of air flowing through a cargo area of the vehicle or shipping container and/or can deflect air onto cargo in the cargo area. A user can install the device in a vehicle or shipping container or the device can be included with the original equipment as sold by the manufacturer of the vehicle or shipping container. If the device is provided as an aftermarket item, the device can be installed by a user in one vehicle or shipping container and then removed from that vehicle or shipping container and then be installed in another vehicle or shipping container.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
It is generally well understood that it is desirable to prevent deterioration in the quality and appearance of consumable perishable goods, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, fish and the like, during lengthy transportation and holding operations, up to their final arrival in the market. Other goods such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and electronic items such as integrated circuit chips and nanotechnology also may require an environment in which the temperature is regulated. Some foodstuffs that must be shipped long distances to market are shipped packed in crushed ice in the shipping container or are kept in a refrigerated environment by an environmental control system. Typically, refrigerated vehicles or freezer trucks transport the foodstuffs to the market.
When the goods arrive by a transporting vehicle or shipping container at a final destination, the goods must be unloaded from the cargo area of the vehicle or shipping container. During this unloading process and during transit, the goods to be consumed should be kept in the desired temperature controlled environment for as long as possible.
Previously, attempts were made to erect a strip curtain inside the cargo area made up of a plurality of strips hanging down from a ceiling of the vehicle or shipping container in an attempt to maintain the temperature of the air in the cargo area where the goods are stored.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view through an opening of a container showing the interior of the container. Prior art hanging strips 1 are connected to the interior of the container. The hanging strips 1 are mounted on either the ceiling 4 or the sidewall 3 of the container. The cargo area of the container extends throughout the interior of the container and is partially enclosed by a floor 2, sidewalls 3, endwall (not shown), and ceiling 4. The cargo area extends to the opening of the container. A closure (not shown) is located at an opening of the container. The closure is located in a position such that when it is desired to transport cargo located in the cargo area the closure may be moved into position and cover the opening of the container so as to secure the cargo therein.
When the strips are located in a position extending transversely across the cargo area, the goods could be unloaded from the cargo area by carrying out the perishable items while the hanging strips hang freely. Since the strips are free to move from side to side, individual strips can swing out of the way when personnel and/or goods are carried through the plane defined by the hanging strips.
One drawback with the erection of a plurality of hanging strips is that the strips can cause injury to personnel who load and unload the goods in the cargo area. The ends of the strips sometimes lay upon the goods as the goods are carried underneath the strips. When the ends of the strips are no longer resting upon the top of the goods being transported under the strips, the strips can fall away from the goods and strike the person unloading the goods, thereby causing injury to that person. In addition, bystanders who are near the goods being transported can suffer injuries from the whipping action of the falling and swinging strips.
Another drawback with the use of a plurality of hanging strips to prevent the escape of air from an environmentally controlled area is that the presence of the strips in the cargo area made loading and unloading of cargo cumbersome since the strips remained in a hanging position between the environmentally controlled zone of the vehicle or container. When a person transports cargo items from the region on one side of the hanging strips to the environmentally controlled region on the other side of the strips, one runs the risk that the strips will interfere with the cargo or become entangled with the cargo. Contact between the hanging strips and the cargo items can also move the cargo items out of their desired configuration as the goods are carried through the hanging strips. Cargo items can even be knocked down onto the flooring of the vehicle or container thereby possibly damaging the cargo.
Another disadvantage with the use of hanging strips to prevent the escape of air from an environmentally controlled region is that when the strips are hanging down between the environmentally controlled region on one side of the hanging strips and the region on the other side of the hanging strips air can pass through the opening between two adjacent strips thereby reducing the effectiveness of the strips at maintaining the temperature of the environmentally controlled region.
Hanging strips have another disadvantage in that the strips are a high maintenance item and require frequent repair or replacement when used as described above. The strips themselves can become damaged and in the case of transparent strips the strips can become hazy and/or lose their transparency due to scratches, scuffing or a buildup of debris, dust or dirt on the strips.
The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing and to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.
The present invention discloses a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or a shipping container. The device includes a roller having a sheet attached to the roller. One end of the sheet is connected to the roller and the sheet can be rolled around the roller and unrolled from the roller. The sheet has a size such that the sheet can extend substantially transversely across the cargo area of the vehicle or shipping container when the device is mounted on the vehicle or shipping container and the sheet is unrolled from the roller. The device allows for a user to simply unroll the unattached end of the sheet from the roller when the user needs to load or unload goods in the cargo area of the vehicle or shipping container in which the device is mounted.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or shipping container which is mountable in the cargo area of the vehicle or shipping container and in which a user can unroll the sheet and thereby place the sheet in an unrolled state such that the sheet extends across the cargo area.
It is an another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or shipping container in which a user can mount the device in the vehicle or shipping container by means of a first and second connecting device.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or shipping, container which has a rolling and unrolling device for repeatedly rolling the sheet onto the roller and unrolling the sheet on the roller.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or shipping container which has a remote control device for activating a rolling and unrolling device which rolls and unrolls the sheet on the roller.
Another object is to provide a device for use in maintaining a temperature in a vehicle or shipping container which has a ratcheting device on the roller which holds the sheet in an unrolled position against a tensioning force applied by a biasing device on the roller.